Aside from accommodation costs, the weekly food shop eats into a huge chunk of the student budget. Having to buy your own groceries to cook up some grub is something we all take for granted at home. Our parents or carers are usually the ones stocking up the fridge and getting the meals out on the table. However, cooking costs do not have to break the bank. There are plenty of thrifty tips and tricks that can help you reduce your cooking costs.
Plan your meals
Understandably, there are days where our mood dictates our food. I cannot count the number of times I have inconveniently trekked to the shops in search of a specific craving. And this is okay… on occasion. It is easy to fall into the habit of buying things for convenience. But that extra ingredient here and there does rack up at the end of the month. Especially when you are trying to figure out where all your money has gone.
Planning your meals for the week ensures you avoid running into that risk, as you have everything ready to be used in the kitchen already. Furthermore, knowing what you are eating in advance not only serves as a mental reminder to stop unnecessarily snacking, it also gives you something to look forward to at the end of the day. You are a lot more likely to get that assignment done quicker if you know a lasagna is waiting for you at home!
Buy in bulk
This can be difficult if you do not have a car or an extra pair of hands to drag your bags for life up the road. But buying in bulk will save you money, as well as those extra trips back and forth to the supermarket. I would particularly recommend buying big packs of pasta or rice, which are the typical favourites when it comes to student meals. It is not hard to see why, when all it takes is some boiling water and a sauce, with vegetables of your choice to be added.
Save your leftovers
Do not throw food away. Whether it’s something as small as a clove of garlic or some leftover chips, save whatever is left behind. This way you will be sure to get your money’s worth and you never know when that extra ingredient will come in handy. There have been many Sunday lunches where I have ended up pulling together all my leftovers into a banquet for one.
Do not forget that you can also stick stuff in the freezer if you have made some miscalculations whilst trying to be a chef and overdone it with the amount of pasta. This freezer trick also means you have a quick meal ready to go if you are ever in a rush or just do not feel like cooking that day.
Share the costs
This one is dependent on how much you get on with the people you are living with. Although, if you have the opportunity to save some money, maybe it is worth putting aside your differences. Perhaps it is not ideal to be making group meals everyday, but it can be useful every now and then. For example, a ‘family’ Sunday Roast or potluck allows you to indulge in a wider variety of food for less. If possible, sharing the costs of essential items, like cooking oil and condiments, is always a great cost-cutter, too.
Watch where you shop
Many of us are used to the home luxuries of groceries from Tesco or Sainsbury’s, but these are not the ideal stores to be shopping at when on a student budget. Discount supermarket chains like Aldi and Lidl are the best places for your weekly shop, especially given their own brand deals (that also happen to not taste too different from supposedly higher quality brands).
Regardless of where you shop, make sure to look out for all the best deals. That could be a specific student discount or a more general ‘Buy One Get One Free’ offer. Recently, both Amazon and Uber Eats have been providing an extremely reasonable 50% off grocery totals, including at companies such as Morrisons.
Do not order out
Undeniably, this is the most challenging line of advice to follow, and sometimes you need that Deliveroo order when you are just too hungover to get out of bed. But takeaways and deliveries really do put a dent in your finances. Instead of getting someone else to make your meals, do it yourself! Not only do you actually then know what you are eating nutritionally, your cooking costs will be unbelievably cheaper.
See also: To meal plan or not to meal plan